Matthew Roth
Recent Posts
Transit Agency Representatives Push “Protect Local” Ballot Initiative
| | 1 Comment
The California State Capitol in Sacramento. Flickr photo: Paraflyer With the continued raids on voter mandated transit funding sources to plug holes in California’s general fund, representatives from the state’s many transit agencies and locally elected officials are pushing for a sweeping ballot initiative this November, one which supporters say would finally put an end […]
San Francisco Takes Parking Spaces for Trial Sidewalk Extensions
| | 49 Comments
A photo simulation of the new Pavement to Parks public space in what was once two parking spaces in front of the Mojo Bicycle Cafe in NOPA. Image: RG Architecture. With the success of San Francisco’s Pavement to Parks trial plazas, the city is about to unveil its newest plan to use its streets for […]
FTA Won’t Fund BART Airport Connector, $70 Million to Go to Transit Ops
| | 76 Comments
Image: BART In a stern letter to BART [PDF], Federal Transit Association (FTA) Administrator Peter Rogoff informed the agency that it would not be able to develop a suitable action plan by March 5th to comply with equity and race requirements for the $70 million in stimulus funds for the Oakland Airport Connector (OAC), a […]
Can Anything Be Done to Fix Muni?
| | 16 Comments
Photo: Troy Holden In San Francisco it’s almost as cliche to kvetch about Muni as it is to misquote Mark Twain about chilly summers, but what can possibly be done to fix a transit system that seems to have so many problems and almost no solutions that everyone can agree upon? The city’s sitting mayor […]
Fell Street Arco Bike Lane Might See Improvements Soon
| | 21 Comments
Click to enlarge. Proposed changes to Fell St. bike lane, soft-hit posts in red. The MTA might have a solution for the dangerous conditions at the Fell Street Arco gas station, where motorists queueing up to buy gas routinely block the bike lane and force cyclists to navigate between bumpers or try their hand a […]
Building a Farm Where a Freeway Used to Be
| | 16 Comments
Moving mulch on the old Central Freeway on-ramp that is becoming Hayes Valley Farm. Photo: Matthew Roth A few weeks ago in San Francisco, a number of urban farmers opened a gate in a chain-link fence at Laguna Street, between Oak and Fell Streets, and entered an overgrown lot that has been unused for nearly […]
Protest Over Parking Lot at Transbay Center Site
| | 11 Comments
Teamsters Local 665 workers protest a parking lot at the future site of the Transbay Transit Center. Photos: Matthew Roth. Despite a stated Transit First policy, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) are encouraging solo drivers to bring their cars into San Francisco’s downtown and park all day […]
SF Supervisor Elsbernd Pulls Muni Operator Ballot Amendment
| | 13 Comments
Photo: Matthew Roth In a move that delighted the dozens of MTA bus and light-rail drivers and representatives of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 250 at the Board of Supervisor’s Rules Committee Meeting today, Supervisor Sean Elsbernd withdrew a proposed charter amendment that would have removed a provision in the city charter that sets […]
New Pedicab Policy in San Francisco Invites New Routes and Businesses
| | 5 Comments
Golden Gate Pedicab company co-founder Justin Bruce in front of his new office on 4th Street. Photo: Matthew Roth Expect to see twice as many pedicabs on the streets this weekend in San Francisco. If you’re counting, that amounts to a modest addition of 15 bicycle taxis. After several months of negotiations, a San Francisco […]
Federal Money for BRT Good for Local Projects, But Future Uncertain
| | 1 Comment
Image: SFCTA With the announcement of this year’s $1.8 billion in Federal New Starts and Small Starts grants [PDF], two of the Bay Area’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects are set to receive much-needed money to maintain their viability in the face of severe budget cuts. The vote of confidence in the Bay Area’s first […]
San Francisco Police Chief to Review Bicycle, Pedestrian Policies
| | 34 Comments
Photo: Troy Holden San Francisco Police Chief George Gascón vowed last week to implement significant crime reducing strategies through his Compstat system and restructured enforcement based on best practices from inside and outside of his department, including two measures that have pedestrian and bicycle advocates astir. At a press conference with Mayor Gavin Newsom Friday, […]
Mapping a City by the Sound of Its Streets
| | 3 Comments
As a country bumpkin who moved to New York City in my early twenties, there was no remedy for the overwhelming cacophony of noise that assaulted me on every street and underground, whether it was the piercing horns from cabs or the unbearable throttling clatter of the express trains roaring by me on the local […]